


I love you, Liam Payne.

by truly_madly_deeply



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, claustrophobic!Niall, protective!liam, sometimes I just need tons of fluff in my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-12-30 06:52:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1015496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truly_madly_deeply/pseuds/truly_madly_deeply
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Niall gets hungry in the middle of the night and ends up being chased by fans, someone needs to save him.</p><p>Or the one where Niall is a successful solo artist and Liam happens to be his bodyguard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I love you, Liam Payne.

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever Niam oneshot. I ended up writing this because my dad saw a picture of One Direction and asked me if "the guy in the middle" (aka Liam) was their bodyguard, so I totally blame him for making me imagine Payno as a hot and protective bodyguard.
> 
> Also, Niall's [tweet](http://twitter.yfrog.com/obq0ionj?sa=0) inspired me a lot.
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](http://tommos-cupcake.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/Tommos_Cupcake) if you want to. :)
> 
>  
> 
> * * * * * * * * *

“Alright everyone, let’s call it a day and finish tomorrow. Well done so far, see you all in ten hours. Niall, you were absolutely amazing, the music video is going to be a huge success.”

I sighed when I heard the first assistant director talk to me in such an enthusiastic way. “No offence, but I’m not sure about that.” I liked him, I really did, and I liked our director as well, but honestly, I had no idea why I had agreed on working with them again.

“Well, we are sure about it. Aren’t we, honey?” He turned away to smile lovingly at his boss - who, by the way, was also his boyfriend – and caused me to sigh again. Yes, they were kind of cute together, and yes, they had done a fantastic job on my last three videos, but that didn’t mean they could just ignore my thoughts on this!

“Listen,” I said even though I knew they weren’t; hell yes, snogging each other in front of everyone seemed to be so much more important than listening to an artist who wanted his music videos to be … well, straight.

“Niall, I’m sorry to interrupt but Perrie is waiting in the car, she needs to go through some stuff with you,” my manager’s assistant told me while I was watching the happy couple and trying not to become overwhelmed by my own stupid feelings.

“Yeah, sure. Just tell her I’ll be there in a minute,” I mumbled and Zayn nodded and headed towards the exit of the building in which we had already shot most of the scenes we needed.

Finally the two lovebirds in front of me separated their lips and looked at me. The director was the first one to speak, “Go ahead, what’s wrong with the video?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Harry … it’s great, actually. Except for the fact that it’s a fucking love song and you won’t let me sing it to a girl!”

“Oh come on, you don’t need a girl to do a great job.”

I furrowed my brows. “I won’t talk to you anymore, Louis. You were the one who made me wear those awful tight jeans, remember? From now on, I’ll only talk to Harry.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Louis replied. “You look awesome wearing them.”

“Well I don’t look very straight!” I spat at him before turning to Harry who was just standing there with a big smile all over his face. “Why are you doing this to me? It’s stupid to sing a love song without anyone else in the video!”

“Trust me,” Harry said after a moment of silence and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand, “none of us would like it if we made you sing to some girl.”

“What do you mea-“

“See you tomorrow.” And off they were. What the fuck?

I had no choice but to leave the building and get into the car. I needed to talk to Perrie about the video, she’d know what to do. She always knew. And she was probably the only person in this world who could stop Harry und Louis from doing something we all would regret.

When I crossed the hall, heading for the door, I suddenly felt my heart stumble in my chest. It shouldn’t have taken me by surprise that he was standing by the door, clearly waiting for me, because … well, he always did. It was his job to do so and I fucking knew that. However, this knowledge hadn’t prevented me from falling in love with him in the first place. It had just kind of happened …

“You’re alright?” he asked me when I had reached the door, and then he sent me one of his very rare smiles. God, how I loved it. His smile was perfect, everything about him was perfect, and yes, it was damn wrong to think that way about my bodyguard but it wasn’t my fault I had fallen for him, was it?

“Yeah … I think so,” I murmured and bit my upper lip, desperately trying to avoid his gaze. I didn’t want him to read my mind by simply seeing it in my eyes, and I didn’t have a clue why this had happened before several times. Maybe Liam was one of these people who just knew everything?

“You want to talk about it?” Well, this was new. Despite the fact that we had become sort of friends during the past couple of months, he had never asked me this question. We usually talked about work, the latest soccer results or where to find some newly opened restaurants, because, well, everyone knew how obsessed I was with food and Liam never hesitated to make sure I got everything I wanted, but …

“It’s nothing.” As soon as the words had left my mouth, I already wanted to take them back. Liam had been my bodyguard for almost five months now and since then not a single day had gone by without me hoping to get to know him better. He never talked about his own life though and I didn’t dare asking. And I knew that he took his job very seriously, so I had almost given up hope that he would dare to ask me anything more personal than where I wanted to stop for lunch.

God, I was so stupid. I wanted to talk to him, I wanted to tell him stuff, I really wanted him to ask me that question over and over again …

“Actually, I, um, well, I mean,” I managed to stutter out and felt my cheeks already burn. God, this was embarrassing.

The smile on Liam’s face reappeared. “Tell me later, alright? Otherwise they’re probably going to kill us for being late.”

I followed his gaze and saw Zayn standing outside, leaning against the car and waving at us impatiently. Oh, right, the car … Perrie …

“Let’s go,” Liam said and made me wonder instantly if his voice had ever been softer than at this very moment. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and led me through the door, and as soon as we were outside a bunch of girls appeared out of nowhere and started screaming my name.

“Niall, I love you so much!” – “Can I hug you, please, Niall, just one hug!” – “Did you shoot your music video in there? What is it like, tell us, Niall, please!” – “Is that girl you were seen with lately your new girlfriend? You said you were single!”

Stay calm, Nialler. Relax, they’re just a few fans wanting to speak to you. And cuddle. And maybe rip off your clothes, but yeah, that’s what you get for being a famous singer. No need to worry, it’s not like you’re on your own here …

I desperately tried to listen to my inner voice but couldn’t stop myself from wincing when the girls nearly knocked me over. Suddenly they were everywhere; I was surrounded by screaming fans and started feeling terrified. It was ridiculous, considering that I had been living this life for more than three years now but this was something I’d never get used to. After all, suffering from claustrophobia wasn’t exactly easy to handle with.

“Calm down,” I heard Liam’s steady voice behind me. I wasn’t even sure if he was talking to me or to the shrieking fans but knowing that he was here to protect me was enough to get rid of at least a small part of my fear.

“Thank you,” I whispered, wondering if he could hear me through all that noise, and then his hands slid down from my shoulders and just for a few seconds, I felt my inner panic well up again.

But then he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. “Sorry girls, we have to go,” he apologised while leading me towards the car. “Niall will do a twitcam tomorrow and maybe a quick follow spree, so make sure to –“

I didn’t hear the last part of his announcement – which, by the way, was completely new to me, but it was a good idea to appease the fans with all that twitter stuff - because we had reached the car and I was being shoved into the backseat. Two minutes later we drove off, with Perrie complaining about all those crazy fans that put themselves in danger by not moving away from the car.

“You okay, Niall?” Zayn asked while patting my arm.

Instead of answering, I just shut my brain down and cuddled up to Liam – something I had never done before but God, it felt so good and he almost immediately wrapped his arms around me again and started lightly rubbing my back.

I heard Perrie say something and Zayn answer, but the words didn’t get through to me. I didn’t care anyway, I was practically lying in Liam’s arms and about to find out how good he smelled and …

“Niall. Come on, wake up, we need to get out.”

It took me a few seconds to realise that we were still in the car, and then I blushed. Oh shit, I must’ve had fallen asleep in Liam’s arms! Niall, why are you so stupid? He is your bodyguard, for fuck’s sake! It’s his job to protect you, yes, but this isn’t just protecting anymore!

“Listen, Nialler.” Oh dear God, had he really just called me that? Seriously? “I can’t carry you up to your room … unless you want the paparazzi outside to see it.”

“I … I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Liam,“ I spluttered. My face had gone bright red for sure and all I wanted to do was jump out of the car and flee from him. Which was impossible considering the fact that Liam still had his arms around me. What the …

“No need to be sorry,” he smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a beat. Don’t stare at him, Niall. Don’t stare at those big brown eyes that make you melt like ice in the sunshine …

“We … we should get out. I mean, I’m tired and everything … thanks for being my pillow though.” No. You did not just say that. Oh my god.

“As long as I’m doing a good job at it … any time.”

I had no idea what happened after that conversation. Somehow I must’ve gotten out of the car and into the hotel because eventually I came back to reality while standing in the bathroom and staring into the mirror like a maniac. My heart was racing and all I could think about was Liamliamliamliamliam.

Alright, now calm down. Calm the fuck down! Just don’t think about it, have some sleep and forget how incredible it felt to lie in his strong arms …

Yeah, right, because it was so easy to forget that. But at least I had to try, so I took a quick shower and put the white hotel bath robe on. After all, I didn’t know if maybe Perrie was waiting for me on the other side of the door. Zayn had mentioned some stuff she needed to talk about with me … or had she already told me everything? Total blackout, great.

When I left the bathroom, I saw my manager sitting on the couch. Zayn was sitting in a chair and typing on his laptop … and then there was Liam. Cute, sexy Liam, talking on his phone while walking up and down in the back of the room.

“Oh, Niall,” Perrie said and started smiling. “Listen, you look really tired. Just go to bed, we’ll sort everything out and tell you tomorrow, alright? – Zayn, get me a coffee please, we’re meeting in ten minutes.”

Zayn nodded, took his computer and looked at me. “Night, Niall.” And off he was, along with his boss who flipped through her papers while walking towards the door.

“Night,” I finally managed to reply when they were already gone. Liam was still there but now finished his phone call and then started walking towards me. I instantly blushed and bit my lips. Dammit.

“I’m sorry, Niall. I know, you wanted to talk about something but I have to go and meet some hotel security guard down in the lobby. Just … tell me tomorrow, yeah? Now get some sleep.”

***

I tried. I really tried to sleep but ended up lying awake for more than two hours. At midnight, I’d gotten so hungry that I couldn’t ignore it anymore, and all I wanted was a double cheese burger. Maybe two. Or even three, I mean, who counts?

Knowing that nobody would be too keen on giving me a ride to McDonald’s in the middle of the night, I put my clothes on and sneaked out of my suite. I was wearing black jeans, a red t-shirt and my blue denim jacket and since it was only March, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too cold outside.

When I passed Perrie’s door, I heard her talking to Zayn and … well, let’s just say, it didn’t sound like business matters at all. “Would you mind getting me some more coffee?” she giggled and then I heard him say: “Here, take mine. Be careful, don’t burn your fingers, it’s really hot …”

Ooookay. Whatever. This wasn’t my business and actually I really didn’t want to think about what might or might not be going on in there. I hurried to the lift, talked to the concierge about two minutes later and got the keys for an unremarkable hire car.

I knew there was a McDonald’s not far away and it took me indeed only ten minutes to find it. Quickly I parked the car right around the corner of the building and rushed through the door, and when I had just eaten the first burger a bunch of kids – actually only boys - came towards me.

“You are that Niall Horan guy, aren’t you?” one of them curiously asked me, and when I nodded in surprise he started grinning all over his face. “My girlfriend’s gonna kill me because I met you. Would you sign my shirt for her?”

“Sure,” I answered and swallowed the first bite of my second burger. “What’s her name?”

“Linda. Gosh, now she might not kill me but love me forever, it’s her birthday next week. Thanks mate.”

I should’ve known better than staying instead of grabbing my meal and just leaving. Turned out that suddenly all of them wanted an autograph or even a picture for _someone else_ and after approximately two minutes a group of girls entered, noticed me and ran towards my table. Screaming.

After what seemed liked hours to me I finally made it out – and was almost knocked over by even more screaming fans. I silently cursed the kids who had met me in there; obviously they had told all their friends about Niall Horan eating double cheese burgers at McDonald’s in the middle of the night.

Now what are you going to do about it, Horan?

“Guys, please, calm down,” I tried to stop them and started running towards the next corner. I needed to get to my car as fast as possible; otherwise I’d never manage to escape from my fans. Sure, I loved them, they were the reason why I could make a living from my music and I was truly grateful for every single one of them … but right now, they were getting too many, I couldn’t possibly stay here …

“Niall, I want a picture with you, I’m your biggest fan!” – “Back off, bitch! He’s mine!” – “Oh you wish! Now fuck off, I saw him first!”

Okay, I had to confess, there were moments in my life when I’d preferred them not to exist. But instead of them, it was my hired car that turned out not to exist anymore when I had finally made my way around the corner. Fuck!

“Niall, are you dating that girl you’ve been seen with lately? You said you were single!”

That was when I panicked. There were way too many people around me, my car was gone and I had no one with me to protect me from whatever was going to happen. I was completely on my own and I knew that there was no way I would get out of this situation. Actually I’d never been more scared in my life.

“Tell us about her, why are you seeing her?”

“She’s my cousin,” I managed to stammer out even though I wondered why I gave them an explanation in the first place. After all, it was none of their business.

The even more important question was how I hadn’t completely freaked out yet. Yes, I was scared as hell, but obviously this didn’t stop me from getting some proper words out.

This changed all of a sudden, when more and more fans started pushing forward to get near me. I was surrounded by a bunch of screaming people, and my heart began to beat faster. Someone get me the fuck out of this!

The next thing getting to my attention was an arm being wrapped around my waist. “Give him some space. Move, people! You don’t want him to get hurt, do you?” I heard a loud voice shout, and now my heart was beating even faster and my breath was taken away.

“But we came here to see him, he can’t just leave now!” someone yelled.

“Oh shut it!” another fan shouted back. “Don’t you see it’s getting too much for him? We should leave him alone.”

“Get in there,” Liam told me and shoved me into some car. I closed my eyes and didn’t speak a single word, and Liam remained silent as well – at least until we arrived at the hotel. “You’re alright?” he asked and opened the door on the passenger side to let me out.

I couldn’t answer, my lips didn’t move and my eyes were still shut. Two arms were wrapped around my body and then I was carried into the building and straight to the lift. As amazing as this felt, I couldn’t enjoy it due to pure shock. Liam had saved me, again he had been the one to get me out of trouble. And this time it was my own fault that I had gotten myself into it.

“You owe me, Mister,” Liam said when the door of my suite was closed behind us and put me down on my feet. “You’re buying me lunch tomorrow,” he added while staring at me. “I had to pay off the concierge to make him spill why you hired a car in the middle of the night.”

“I’ve been hungry.” As soon as the words had come out of my mouth, I realised that my voice was shaking like crazy … and so was my whole body.

“You could’ve simply called for the room service, silly.”

The fact that he had just called me silly made my heart flutter. I was absolutely sure that no human being on this planet had ever pronounced this word more tender, more endearing, more loving …

And this made my body tremble even more. I couldn’t stop a first sob from stumbling out of my mouth, and only seconds later I was crying like a baby and fell into Liam’s open arms.

“Next time ask me to go with you, yeah?” he whispered. His voice was so filled with love that I would’ve gone week at the knees if he hadn’t hold me so tight. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in the middle of the night, just don’t leave without telling me. I’ll be there for you whenever you need me, Nialler.”

“I know,” I whimpered and found myself wrapping my arms around his body.

“I’ll protect you, no matter what … and not only because it’s my job.”

My heart started racing again at his words. “I know,” I repeated, and then I pressed my lips to his without allowing myself to think about it. I just wanted to kiss him, kiss him and never ever stop again …

And then Liam was kissing me back and it felt like something he’d wanted to be doing for such a long time. Tears were still running down my face but all the shock seemed to be long gone … because I was lying in Liam’s arms, moving my lips against his and feeling his firm heartbeat near mine.

_I love you, Liam Payne._


End file.
